Yep - the Greeks can be credited with winning the War. Had they surrendered Hitler would have invaded Russia far earlier and quite possibly have secured the eastern front. It would have been a very different war.
From Stephen Kaludis
Happy "OXI†or No day. October 28th 1940 when the Greek Prime Minister
told the Italians No to surrendering Greece without a fight. The Greeks
beat the Italians for one of the first victories of WW 2 causing the
Germans to take over the fight and delayed the Russian invasion by
several crucial months.
1
Interesting! I can't remember reading about this in any of the WWII books I have -- but then, they tend to concentrate on Britain and the U.S. as far as the opposition to the Axis. I don't even remember a mention of this in Victor Davis Hanson's excellent book "History of the Second World Wars." Plural there is intended; Hanson describes the war as starting small and becoming something else again when the U.S., and the Soviet Union, became embroiled in it.
Posted by: Dana Mathewson at October 29, 2021 10:12 PM (6H7jI)
2
It's a bit of forgotten history. I wouldn't say the Greeks single-handedly won the war (not by a long shot) but their efforts messed up the timing for Hitler at a critical moment.
There is a reason why many military people are God-fearing; they see how important one small thing can be in war. We were meant to win WWII.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at October 30, 2021 07:32 AM (cpCws)
3
Yes, I believe we were, and this one "little incident" is more important than it might seem to a non-historian. Anything that slows an enemy down is a win for our side.
Of course, Hitler made a crucial mistake by allying himself with Mussolini in the first place.
Posted by: Dana Mathewson at October 30, 2021 09:07 PM (6H7jI)
4
That he did Dana. And Mussolini tried for a long time to rein in Hitler rather than simply dump him as an ally. Most historians agree Mussolini was a dictator and strongarm guy but not a monster. The same cannot be said of Hitler. But he's lumped together with Hitler and always will be for that.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at October 31, 2021 08:28 AM (HsSz+)